Despite the fact that Sony has crafted some of the better Android hardware that we’ve seen in recent years, the company’s mobile division hasn’t seen much commercial success. Now it looks like Sony is thinking about taking action with its mobile arm.
According to a report from Reuters, Sony CEO Kaz Hirai is considering a sale of its mobile phone division — as well as its TV group — or some kind of joint venture. There aren’t any deals in the works right now, but a source says that Sony’s higher-ups know that “no business is forever” and that “every segment now needs to understand that Sony can exit businesses.”
“Electronics in general, along with entertainment and finance, will continue to be an important business,” Hirai told reporters at CES last week. “But within that there are some operations that will need to run with caution — and that might be TV or mobile, for example.”
While Sony has gotten quite a bit of praise for its recent Android hardware, especially the Xperia Z3, it hasn’t been able to gain much traction in the mobile market. The recent launch of the Xperia Z3v on Verizon could help that a bit, but until Sony is unable to get its flagships on all U.S. carriers like LG, HTC, and Samsung, the company is going to have a tough time of gaining a foothold in the U.S. Exactly what’ll happen with Sony’s mobile division in the future remains to be seen, but this is definitely one situation to keep an eye on.
